Lost and Found
by LoveHGSS
Summary: Set directly after 'Killer Within'. This is my take on what I think should happen when Daryl goes out on a manhunt for Carol. How does this change their relationship? Read to find out! Please notice the M rating.


Summary – Set directly after 'Killer Within'. This is my take on what I think should happen when Daryl goes out on a manhunt for Carol. How does this change their relationship? Read to find out! Please notice the M rating.

*CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON THREE, EPISODE 4*

An enormous thank you to hotchityhotchhotch for the speedy beta and wonderful comments. If you haven't already, make sure to check out her Walking Dead/Criminal Minds crossover called 'Won't Stop'.

**Warning – 18 and over only. Slight violence, language, sexual content.**

The world was crumbling down around him. Everything was blurring, the tears building up in his usually dry eyes clouding his vision. The world had been a bad, bad place for so long, but never had he lost so much hope. That word was no longer in his vocabulary. He could hear Rick screaming, knew that something else was wrong, but his brain couldn't focus. He'd never imagined giving up, never pictured himself throwing in the towel and accepting the fact that nothing would ever be the same. The small scrap of fabric balled in his left fist was his undoing. Everything he'd been fighting for now seemed so insignificant. Everything seemed…hopeless.

Carol. Carol, who had been so heartbroken over her daughter. Carol, who had leaned on him for months after that horrid day. Carol, who had grieved for a period but then became a force of strength for the entire group. Carol, who had light radiating off her in waves even on the darkest of days. Carol, who was the only woman that he could ever picture being able to hold her own against him. Carol, who had been the only person ever to touch him so deeply. Carol, the woman who he was madly in love with.

A second scream from Rick pulled him back to his senses.

"Where's Carol?" he asked, turning to address the question to Hershel.

"I'm not sure," Hershel replied. "She wasn't with you?"

"Does she look like she's with me?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Maggie! Have you seen Carol?"

Maggie's still-shocked eyes briefly met his and she shook her head, not able to stop the gut wrenching sobs long enough to answer. Keeping his grip on Maggie, Glenn turned slightly and shook his head, as if to tell Daryl to wait for a few minutes. But he'd be damned if he cared about anyone in this yard more than Carol. He'd caught on to the fact that there was a baby, but no Lori. It was honestly not a big loss to him. He cared for her, didn't want anything bad to happen, but there was no comparison to his bond with Carol.

Without thought, he ran from yard to yard around the prison, stopping only briefly to kill a few walkers. His mind raced, sweat beading up on his forehead as he pushed himself to keep searching long after his legs began to burn because of the speed in which he was running. The thought of her becoming one of them, or of being eaten, made him stop dead, his body folding in half as his stomach lurched, bile rising in the back of his throat. A woman's voice calling his name had him snapping back up as if a gunshot had gone off.

"Daryl!" called the voice again. "Daryl, wait up!"

Beth came running towards him and the sight of her made him sick all over again. "Leave me be," he warned, knowing that his temper was rising and he didn't wish to take it out on her.

"I want to help you," she explained as she got closer.

"I don't need your damn help," he snapped.

Beth stopped a few feet from him. "I know you're angry. Hang on," she shouted as he began to walk away from her. "Daryl, stop! I know this is hard; I've been here before, remember?"

The pain in her voice stopped him in his tracks. He took in a deep breath and turned to look at the young woman. "Look, Beth, I appreciate your sympathy, but standing here doesn't do me a damn bit of good. I'm going to check the cell block. Alone."

"That's just stupid!" she retorted. "I'll come and help. I want to find her, too." Seeing that she wasn't quite getting through to him, she tried something else. "Please, I can't stand there listening to people mourning over Lori. It's too much. I want to help. Please."

"You better keep up," he mumbled before trekking back towards one of the entry doors.

Beth didn't say a word as she followed Daryl, she just clutched the large knife she was carrying to her chest and prepared herself for a possible onslaught of walkers. Daryl glanced back at her and nodded his head as he reached the door, signaling her that they were about to enter. She stuck close behind him the entire way, constantly turning back around to check for danger. They only encountered a few walkers, but Daryl's sharp aim kept Beth from having to do any killing of her own. It only took them about fifteen minutes to find the cell block.

"Fuck!" Daryl yelled from above her.

"Not here?" she called back, even though she already knew the answer.

"I need to find her," he said, more to himself than to Beth. A sudden idea popped into his head. He raced back down the stairs and out of the cell block, not caring if Beth was still following.

"Daryl!" she called after him. "Daryl, what are you doing?"

"She might have gotten run off by walkers. She could be in the woods."

"You can't go looking by –"

She was cut off as Daryl hauled around and got right in her face. "That woman is all I have in this world, Beth, and I will be damned if you're going tell me that I cannot do everything within my ability to try and find her. Either you're helping me or you're not. Do _not_ tell me I cannot do something. Got it?"

Beth nodded, her hands shaking as Daryl's intense eyes bore into her own. "Okay," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Daryl turned on his heel and bolted to the nearest exit, which happened to be back in the courtyard where everyone was still grieving over Lori. Rick was on the ground, Carl seated in his father's lap, both of them still sobbing uncontrollably. Glenn and Maggie were sitting on the stairs with Hershel as he looked over the baby. Still no Carol. Without a word to anyone, they blew past them into the yard containing the vehicles.

He mounted the bike, the tires bouncing under his weight. He haphazardly put his weapon on his legs, not really caring if it was secure or not. His hand shook as he turned the key, his heartbeat louder in his ears than the roar of the engine. He composed himself long enough to tell Beth to hop on the back of the bike. The look of determination on his face kept her from telling him she was terrified of motorcycles. Her instincts told her she could trust Daryl, even while he was in that state of mind. They reached the gate leading out of the prison a few hundred feet away and he told her to get off the bike.

"Open the gate. I'm doing this alone. Don't argue with me."

Knowing when to back off, Beth dismounted the bike and opened the gate. She pulled a gun from behind her back.

"I'll cover you," she said, nodding her head towards a few walkers mindlessly roaming the grass a few yards away.

"Thanks," he muttered before revving the engine and taking off, not even bothering to watch as the walkers fell to the ground a few feet from his bike as Beth's bullets lodged into their brains.

The loudness of the bike helped him to keep his mind quiet, barely able to hear his own thoughts over the roaring engine. He thought back to what the prisoner had said about the bike, how it needed work, and he momentarily wondered what would happen if it crapped out on him. If he couldn't find Carol, it didn't really matter. It nearly killed him to not be able to find Sophia, but he knew that his desire to stay alive would be nearly nonexistent if he couldn't find Carol.

He shook his head as if to clear the thoughts from his mind. He needed to focus. He went a few feet into the trees and idled the bike, listening for any rustling. He knew that if Carol heard the bike, she would come to him. Even if a hundred walkers were following her, he _knew _she would run to him. He would protect her as he's done in the past. After a moment of not hearing anything, he tore down the road, only to stop a few hundred feet away. He nearly jumped when he heard gunshots go off not too far behind him. He looked back to see Rick, who still had tears running down his face, coming towards him in the truck, Glenn standing in the back with his gun trained on a few walkers that were coming towards Daryl.

"We're with you, Daryl," Glenn yelled over the combined sound of the engines.

He gave Glenn a brief nod and started further down the road. He suddenly realized that he wouldn't have even heard the walkers come up behind him. With that realization, he felt a new appreciation for the men currently following him on a ghost chase. They went a few miles before Daryl forced himself to turn back around, but he still stopped every few hundred feet on the way back. He knew dark was only around the corner and the search would be pointless once dark fell. If she didn't turn up before sunrise, he'd be out there tearing through the woods and going as far as he could before running out of gas.

It was only once they reached the prison that he realized what an idiot he'd been. He hadn't even taken the time to check the entire prison. She was probably hiding in a storage closet, in the cafeteria, somewhere safe. He felt so stupid thinking that she would take off into the unknown instead of finding a safe place to hide. With that in mind, he brought the bike to full speed and was off it within a second after cutting the engine. He shouted his thanks to Glenn and Rick before breaking into a run, not even stopping to wait for backup as he stumbled into the prison.

"Carol?" he whispered loudly as he entered the cafeteria. "Carol, come on."

The quickly built up hope was taken down a notch every time he'd turn a corner, after every door she wasn't behind. His breathing was labored as he cleared through each corridor, mercilessly hacking away at the sparse amount of walkers. With every passing minute, his chest got tighter and tighter. He finally found a room containing a mutilated body, but quickly realized it was Lori. He bowed his head for a moment in honor of her, genuinely sorry for the loss of one of their team.

The weight of Carol possibly being dead fell upon him as he exited the room and his knees buckled. He grasped at the wall but found no purchase. He dropped to his knees, his nose stinging and his eyes watering.

"Man up, Dixon," he said aloud. "Come on."

It took him another moment to collect himself. He eventually got up and ploughed through the rest of the prison with vengeance. He finally made it back outside where everyone was crowded around the baby. The smallest of smiles reached his face when he noticed Rick was holding the infant. That smile was quickly replaced with a deep frown when he saw Carol was not within the group.

Dark had fallen upon them and he suddenly felt completely helpless, knowing that he couldn't go back out in search of her beyond the prison walls. With a frustrated grunt, he quietly slid back through the door into the prison. He mindlessly made his way back to their cell block, his shoulders slumped and his weapon loose at his side. He entered one of the cells on the top level, not wanting to be bothered by anyone if they came looking for him. He'd barely had time to place his weaponry on the cot before he heard footsteps coming from beneath him. He sighed heavily when he heard the steps getting closer to the stairs, hoping to ward them off. He outright groaned in irritation when they continued up the stairs.

The footsteps stopped right outside the cell he was in and he took a deep breath to control his temper before turning around. Within the length of a breath, everything changed. There stood Carol, her muted pink shirt a little torn, a small cut to her collarbone, her eyes drooping with exhaustion, but otherwise looking unharmed. A wide smile lighting her face snapped him out of his shock. He shook his head and backed up, rage sweeping through his veins. Carol noticed the shift in his face and she followed him to the back of the jail cell with some trepidation, knowing that backing up an angry Daryl was like trying to back a wild animal into a corner.

A suffocating tension filled the room when he looked directly into her eyes for when felt like the first time. There was a beat where they both held their breaths, neither sure how to proceed. The relief and happiness he felt overwhelmed him and he charged at her. His arms slid around her slight frame and he lifted her off the ground as he stood back to full height. He buried his face into her neck as she wrapped her arms around him, the tightness with which he hugged her cutting off her breathing. Daryl closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of her. Her skin was coated in a layer of dirt, but it still held a warmth that he couldn't deny made his heart skip a beat or two.

Carol gently stroked the back of Daryl's head, smoothing his hair down and trying her best to calm him. She knew him too well. She knew the moment he set her down that all hell would break loose. He set her down after a minute and loosened his grip just enough for her to breathe. She held onto him as he tried to pull away. She was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. There had been a period of time that she hadn't thought she would ever see him again, either, and that had terrified her.

When T-Dog had been bitten, she had instantly wanted Daryl. She had wanted him to lean on and had wanted him to fix everything. She'd been surprised but knew that Daryl was her rock, the person who she could always turn to when things got to be too much. Tears stung her eyes at remembering T-Dog. The last thing he'd ever done was save her life. She pushed Lori out of her mind, too, having been given the gist of things when she'd run into Glenn on her way back to the cell block a few minutes previous. She knew the dynamic of the group was going to shift, but she didn't want to think about that just yet. Not when she had Daryl's arms wrapped securely around her. Nothing could touch her at that moment.

All too soon, Daryl pulled away, having to grab her arms and remove them from around his neck in order to step away from her. He purposefully looked away from her for a minute, not wanting her to see how emotional he was getting. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair, racking his brain for a place to start what was sure to be a heated conversation. Carol kept her shoulders squared, telling him very clearly that she was ready for the onslaught of anger she knew he was containing. He finally met her eyes and took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I got lost," she explained with a shrug, "but by the time I found the others, you had already disappeared."

"How the hell did you get lost?" he asked incredulously.

"I had found the courtyard, but I ran back in."

His eyes widened. "Walkers?"

"I wanted to find you."

There was a beat of silence, fury rising up inside him. He clenched his fists.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" he hissed. "You shouldn't have gone looking for me!"

"Like you went looking for me?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

"That's not the same thing!"

"Why, Daryl?" She crossed her arms. "Because you're a big _manly_ _man_ and I'm some damsel in distress who needs to be rescued?"

"Sure as hell seems that way sometimes!"

Daryl's head whipped to the side as Carol's hand connected with his left cheek.

"Screw you, Daryl!"

Without thought, Daryl's hands came up and grasped the top of her arms. "Don't ever hit me again."

"I'm sorry," she said instantly. "You deserved it, though."

"You are fucking crazy," he growled. "Don't ever do that again."

"Don't give me a reason to."

Their chests rose and fell quickly, their eyes locking in an angry gaze, neither ready to step down.

"You were scared," Carol said after a moment, realization finally donning on her. "You were scared you lost me."

"Shut up," he muttered.

"You're allowed to be scared, Daryl."

"I said shut up!" he yelled, pressing her roughly against the concrete, causing her to flinch as her head connected with the wall. "Ah, shit, I'm so sorry. Carol, I really didn't mean to push you so hard. Let me see."

"No," she said, holding her head high and locking eyes with him again. "I'm used to your temper, Daryl Dixon."

Ignoring her somewhat playful tone, he tried to tilt her head to the side so he could see if he'd done any real damage. She pushed the other way and he cupped her jaw so she'd stop moving.

"Daryl," she whispered, breaking his focus.

His blue eyes honed in on her grey ones, his face going from concern to a look she had only seen once or twice. His eyes softened and his face fell a little. He took in a deep breath, looking almost defeated.

"I was scared," he murmured, his thumb gently brushing her right cheek. "I was scared."

Carol cleared her throat, which was suddenly very tight. "I'm sorry. I really am, Daryl. I know how that feels and I can't imagine… I can't imagine if it would have been reversed. I'm so sorry."

He nodded, accepting her apology a lot more easily than she thought he would. "Just don't do that again, okay?"

Even though her first reaction was to tell him that she didn't need protecting, she didn't want to make him mad again. "Okay."

"Thank you."

"Hey," she said as he looked away from her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like being scared, Carol. I don't like this feeling."

"What feeling?" she asked quietly, tilting her head to try and catch his eyes.

He finally looked at her and tightened his grip on her face, but only just slightly. "Knowing that every day could be our last. And realizing that even with that hanging over us, I wasn't bright enough to do this a long time ago."

"Do what?"

The words barely made it from her mouth when Daryl covered her lips with his. Carol inhaled deeply through her nose and her hands shot out to grasp Daryl's sides. A small groan left her as he leaned against her, pinning her between him and the wall. He took that as a positive and deepened the kiss, a jolt of pleasure racing down his spine as she reciprocated, her tongue meeting his halfway. He took her mouth with force, the tension that had been building for months and months exploding between them. Carol became lightheaded, her mind spinning in a hundred different directions, and her hands balled into fists against his sides.

Daryl forced himself to pull back in order to breathe. "Holy shit," he breathed out as he placed his forehead against hers.

Carol chuckled lowly. "I never took you for the cliché type."

"Huh?" he asked, his brain still a little fuzzy from the kiss.

"That line you gave me," she explained.

"Well, here's another one for you: it's just what you do to me."

Carol laughed but then gasped as Daryl kissed her again, slower this time, but still with all the passion he had left in him. Her hands slid up his chest, her arms forcing his out of the way. He smiled against her lips when she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He pressed hard against her, loving the feel of her too-thin body smashed between him and the concrete. The years of hard labor and the exhaustion he felt melted away as she bit into his bottom lip. He felt a hundred pounds lighter, the weight of the chaos they'd been living in lifted from his shoulders. He wanted to feel her, wanted to touch every inch of her and never stop.

Daryl's hands explored Carol's hips for a moment before his fingers snuck beneath her over-shirt and tank top, the tips of them tingling as he came in contact with her bare skin. Carol raked her hands through his short hair and sighed out heavily when he pulled away from her mouth, only to replace his lips on her neck. He blazed a path of wet, open-mouthed kisses along her jaw, not giving a damn that she was just as covered in sweat and dirt as he was. He grunted when her dull nails dug into his scalp after he gently bit the lower lobe of her ear. She fisted his hair as best as possible and yanked his head back, her mouth finding his and she instantly swept her tongue along the seam of his lips.

Something about her taking control made something within Daryl snap. He aggressively shoved his hands and forearms beneath her shirt and up her back until he reached her shoulder blades. Within the time it took Carol to gasp, he had her shirt halfway over her head. She instantly lifted her arms, allowing him to fully remove the garments, leaving her topless. He drank her in as he threw the clothes to the side. She still had just enough skin and muscle covering her body allow for a little bit of curve, something he'd always found undeniably sexy. Her breasts were small, but they still fit perfectly beneath his calloused palms when he hesitantly cupped them.

"Daryl," she panted, her hands reaching out to brace herself on his muscular biceps, having not felt so turned on in God knows how long.

"Okay?" he asked breathily, glancing quickly up to her eyes before resuming his heated stare at her bare torso.

Carol swallowed hard before answering, not sure if she'd be able to answer him coherently if he kept slowly massaging her breasts. "Yeah," she finally managed. "I think you're overdressed, though."

His eyes were wide when he looked up again. His momentary surprise gave her time to collect herself and she raised an eyebrow, as if telling him to move things along. He smirked at her and it grew to a full smile when her lips tilted into a grin. He reluctantly removed his hands from her, but only long enough to pull his shirt off. Daryl couldn't help brushing his thumb over her hard nipple, eliciting a surprised moan from Carol. Her hands roamed his sides for a moment before the feel of his fingers lightly pinching her over-sensitive nipples became too much.

"Hey, Daryl?"

"Yes?" he replied, a small shiver taking over his body as her fingertips went up and down his stomach.

"Wanna fool around?"

He snorted before shaking his head. "Damn I love you," he laughed.

Carol's face fell and Daryl's head snapped up. They locked eyes, and they were wearing matching expressions of shock.

"Ah, shit," he groaned, instantly taking his hands away from her and threading them through his hair. "Carol, I'm sorry. Shit."

Carol grasped his sides, keeping him from stepping away from her like he'd planned to do. He didn't know what they hell had just happened. He'd known his feelings for the past few months, but never had he pictured actually voicing it like that. He hadn't been able to help it, though. The things they'd just gone through combined with her ability to make him forget everything else in the world but her had left him with no option but to tell her. She searched his eyes, and he briefly considered forcing her to let him go so he could leave, the dread settling into his stomach making him feel sick.

That dreadful feeling disappeared instantaneously when she gave him the widest of smiles. "You're so stupid," she said with a laugh. "I love you, too, you idiot."

"Hey, wait just a minute," he said incredulously. "You tell me you love me and call me stupid _and_ an idiot at the same time?"

She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Would you have me any other way?"

He pretended to think about it for a few seconds. "Nah."

"You still didn't answer my question," she said as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"And what was that?" he asked against her lips, his large hands coming back up to cup her jaw.

"Wanna fool around?"

He still snorted out a laugh and nodded. "Maybe."

Carol sucked Daryl's bottom lip into her mouth and hummed. "I don't think 'maybe' is a good enough answer."

He groaned and finally pressed his bare, muscular torso against hers. The intensity of pleasure she suddenly felt made her forget what she had asked, so she was surprised when he left his lips hovering over hers in order to speak.

"Why don't you take off those boots and I'll show you," he growled before almost violently taking her mouth.

Daryl only kissed her for only a moment before pulling completely away from her and crossing his arms, an expectant look in his eyes. She saw his challenge and accepted it fully. Their eyes stayed locked as she quickly kicked off her boots and socks, her eyes darting down his shoes and back up with his eyes, her eyebrow rising. He smirked at her and copied her actions, not looking away from her as he removed his shoes and socks. He upstaged her by unbuckling his own belt he made it as far as popping the button on his pants before she finally acted.

"My job," she explained as her hands covered his, ceasing his movements.

"You first," he replied, not really giving her an option when he pushed her hands away and grasped the top of her pants.

Carol bit her lip to keep from arguing and her eyes slid shut as he leaned down and placed a few kisses on her shoulder. She turned her face into his neck and used just the tip of her tongue to trace small patterns along his skin as he worked on getting her pants undone. He didn't let her back up more than an inch or two before he began to take her pants down her legs, her underwear going with them. She stumbled a little trying to get them off, but Daryl thankfully didn't laugh. He nudged her forehead with his cheek until she leaned up to kiss him again.

He sighed through his nose and cradled her head when she tentatively went for his zipper again. After seeing that he wasn't going to stop her, she hurriedly unzipped them and shoved them over his hips. He briefly pulled away to step out of his pants, leaving them both as naked as the day they were born. Daryl suddenly remembered the many scars littering his body and he closed his eyes for a second as her hands reached out to touch his stomach. His jaw clenched and he tried extremely hard not to flinch. That was the beautiful thing about Carol; she could make him forget the horrors of not only what they were currently going through, but all the horrors of his past, too.

"I have some, too," she whispered, her eyes trained on his face.

He nodded but didn't say anything for a few minutes, just stood stock-still as her fingers skirted over his stomach and chest without hesitation. The fact that she didn't slow any, that she didn't allow those scars to deter her from touching him helped more than he could ever say. He'd once covered himself to hide them so that he wouldn't have to explain or feel that horrific shame that went along with it. But here she was, not giving a damn about his marred skin. She loved him for all he was, and that was more than he'd ever dreamed of. He had never had that kind of confidence with women, but Carol raised something within him that brought out that dominant side he'd always wanted.

He used that after the surprise wore off, grabbing her around the middle and bringing her away from the wall in order to feel the entirety of her naked body against his own. Carol slid her arms beneath Daryl's, her hands gently running up and down his back as he peppered her shoulder and neck with kisses. She closed her eyes when she felt the puckered skin all along his spine. She knew without needing to look he had a plethora of scars there, too. Her heart broke for him, but he cleared her mind of anything but the moment they were having when his large hands found her backside, his fingertips digging into her flesh.

The entire mood shifted as she leaned up to give him a heated kiss. She moaned when he pulled her tighter against him, the evidence of how much she was turning him on pressing into her abdomen. Desire rushed through his veins and he couldn't help but want to bury himself deep inside her. His heart pounded in his chest, concerned with the fact that he hadn't been with a woman in much longer than he cared to admit. Knowing that no matter what, she'd still be around, he pushed that thought away and instead broke away from her, much to her discontent.

Ever the gentleman, he found both their shirts, shook them out, and placed them on the concrete floor before reaching his hand out to her. She gave him that lopsided smile he loved so much and placed her hand in his. He pulled her towards him and she let out a surprised laugh when he stooped down and picked her up bridal style. Her arms went around his neck and he kissed her for a second before going down to his knees, ever careful of her in his arms. He gently laid her on their shirts, taking care to make sure she was on as much of them as possible. Her arms stayed locked around his neck, preventing him from going too far.

Daryl sighed, his nerves rising up again. Carol seemed perfectly happy, so he shifted his weight and used one hand go slowly up her thigh. She lifted her leg slightly, allowing him to pull it to the side so he could climb over it and kneel between her legs. Knowing any further foreplay would be the end of him, he covered her body with his, not giving her hands the room to touch him as she had planned. Any complaints were wiped from her mind as he kissed her with force, not giving her a second to think before sliding his tongue between her lips. He braced himself on his forearms on either side of her torso when her legs came up, allowing him to settled more on top of her.

"God, you're beautiful," he groaned against her lips.

"I could say the same for you. Daryl," she gasped when he pressed against her, making her want him just that much more.

"Fuckin' beautiful," he growled, the sound of her saying his name like that snapping the last bit of control he had.

He met her eyes and she nodded her head slightly, her legs coming up until the heels of her feet were resting on the backs of his thighs. He lifted his hips just enough to get his hand between them. He clenched his jaw and grasped his erection, a low moan leaving him as he teased her wet folds with the tip of it. Finding her entrance, he moved his hand and pressed into her.

"Oh, fuck, Carol," he hissed, pausing halfway into her. She was so damn tight that it was almost painful, but the fact that she was so wet made it only painfully _arousing. _"Jesus Christ."

Carol was thankful he paused for a moment, the girth of him stretching her in a way she'd never felt before. It was so good, but also something she knew she'd need to get used to. He bowed his head, only for Carol to cup his face and bring him back up for a sloppy kiss. Her heels dug into his thighs and he pushed all the way into her before pausing again.

"You okay?" she asked after a minute.

"This ain't gonna last long," he said, his voice laced with disappointment.

"That's fine," she replied, her thumb stroking his cheek. He met her eyes. "Just give it to me like you mean it."

Daryl laughed and shook his head. "You're too good to me," he breathed.

"I know."

Having no other reply, he kissed her. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Daryl gained a little more composure. He started slow, his jaw staying clenched for the first few thrusts. Carol moaned his name and that's when he gained the rest of the confidence he needed. Using only one hand to support himself, he took the other one and slowly touched every inch of her he could reach. It wasn't long before Carol felt herself winding up for an explosive orgasm. She met him thrust for thrust, the pace becoming faster and faster. She grasped his biceps and her hips fell out of rhythm with his when he hit a spot deep inside her that sent a jolt of pleasure through her entire body.

"Right there," she cried out. "Daryl, please."

He nearly stopped, her begging instantly making him rise to the brink before he realized what she was saying. Knowing he'd reach his end just as she did, he quickened his pace, needing her reach her climax before he did.

"That's it," he groaned. "Come on, Carol."

That did it, his voice and him saying her name shoving her into release. She came with a loud cry, her back arching and his name falling from her lips as she clamped down around him. He nearly whimpered when he felt her shake beneath him. It was almost too much, but he rode out her orgasm, wanting to give her a much-needed high.

It was barely two thrusts later when he felt himself falling over the edge. Daryl frantically grabbed her hand, pinning it above her head and lacing his fingers with hers. His eyes squeezed shut and he made a strangled noise as he made a last deep thrust into her, coating her still-convulsing walls with his release. A string of obscenities left his mouth when Carol dug her heels into the backs of his thighs, forcing him to stay exactly where he was, making his orgasm even better than he'd thought was humanly possible.

Daryl stayed on top of her, not able to move, wanting to be connected to her like that for as long as possible. They knew they couldn't stay that way forever, but it was a small break in the chaos that had turned into their everyday existence. He nuzzled her neck and she closed her eyes, trying to burn that moment into her memory, knowing that while nothing was perfect, it came damn close.

_A/N – Please take just a moment out to review, I'd really appreciate it, as this is my first Carol and Daryl fanfiction! Thank you so much for reading!_


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